A Second Sequence
by florensa
Summary: "...You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there..." What is Harry Potter's biggest 'what if? What if he had shaken Draco's hand? In a split second, everything could have changed...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- First off, this is not a Drarry fic. There will be no slash in this story. There will however, be friendships, romance, drama, humor, drama and a plot which confuses even me. But that comes later. These first chapters are where it all begins, the choice that changes it all.  
>I will only be posting the first three chapters, partly to judge how people like it but mostly because that's all I have written. This story is limited to the plot JKR has set out, so events that would not have been affected by my story line will still happen.<strong>

**Thanks to Gina, The Crazy Marshmallow for Beta'ing this first chapter, and my incredible star-like best friend feltsonflowers who is also co-author and is amazing and amazing and wrote the entire plot with me on starbucks flyers.**

**Please enjoy, and review! So sorry for the annoyingly long authors note :)**

**Disclaimer-I really do not own any characters, settings, plots or direct quotes which you recognise from the works of the legendary Miss Rowling.**

** This starts from the scene on the train where Draco comes into their compartment and is all "Be my friend!"**

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><p><em>"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there,"<em> Draco Malfoy smirked as he extended his pale hand for Harry to shake...

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><p>Harry just stood there numbly, wondering what he should do. He didn't know what the boy had meant by "the wrong sort", but he did know that Ron was one of the only people he felt he could talk to in the wizarding world. He didn't want to offend the boy, but he had just insulted Ron and Harry didn't want to alienate the only person on the train who he could call "friend". But Draco was still staring at him, holding out his hand expectantly. So Harry did the safe thing, the polite thing. He reached out and grasped Draco's hand.<p>

Ron watched in horrified disbelief as his friend of a few hours reached out and shook the hand of the sneering boy who had just insulted his family. A strangled choking sound escaped from his lips. Harry turned to look at him in confusion, noting the startling red shade of his freckly face, and the look of shock upon it, before Ron turned sharply on his heel and strode furiously toward the compartment door.

"Ron…What…?" Harry began, startled by Ron's extreme reaction.

"I thought we were friends!" Ron accused, whirling around to face Harry and a smirking Draco. Anger was cutting through Harry's bewilderment, Ron was completely over-reacting.

"We are friends Ron, I don't know what your problem is, all I did was –"

"YOU BETRAYED OUR FRIENDSHIP!" Ron bellowed, his complexion becoming redder with every passing second.

"Yes Weasley, I'm sure you two have developed a very intimate friendship since this train left King's Cross," Draco said sarcastically, moving to stand next to Harry, facing Ron.

"Shut your mouth Malfoy, it's not like you have any experience in friendship," Ron growled.

Draco raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly towards Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing in the corridor outside, cracking their knuckles and doing a very good job of looking threatening.

"I would leave now if I were you, Weasel. Wouldn't want to embarrass yourself even more would you?" he sneered.

Ron glared at Malfoy as if he were wishing him a slow and painful death, which, Harry realised, he probably was, before stalking over to his abandoned seat and hastily grabbing Scabbers and a handful of unopened chocolate frogs.

Draco watched in amusement as Ron finally stormed out of the compartment, slamming to door as he left. Sinking slowly in to his seat, Harry glared after him, fuming over his ridiculous accusations.

Draco laughed, sounding surprisingly good natured. "If that's how vulgar his manners are here, I hate to think what he'll be like at the feast."

Harry looked at him still slightly dazed from Ron's dramatic exit. "Feast?" he asked his expression masked in confusion.

"Yes, feast Potter. It's where we eat food," he replied sarcastically, sitting down opposite Harry.

"I know what a feast is Malfoy, I'm not stupid," Harry snapped, wondering why Draco was still there.

_Could've fooled me. _Draco thought to himself.

"I know Potter, I was being sarcastic," he said patiently.

Harry didn't reply, but instead frowned out of the window at the darkening sky.

Not ten seconds had passed when suddenly the compartment door slid open once again, this time revealing Hermione Granger, looking very surprised to see Draco instead of Ron sitting there.

"Where did your friend go?" she asked Harry imperiously, looking around as if Ron might be hiding in one of the corners.

"Obviously he's not in here," Malfoy drawled. "Can we help you with something?" he continued in a tone that suggested he would do nothing of the sort.

"I…um…only wanted to remind Harry and Ron that we will be there soon, and that they should put on their robes," she said uncertainly.

"Thanks for that, now could you please leave?" he said in a bored voice, motioning towards the hallway.

"All right," she said stiffly. "I only came in here because people are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors.

"Duly noted," Malfoy said with a sarcastic wave as she left the compartment.

"I hope to God that she's not in Slytherin," said Malfoy emphatically, rolling his eyes at her bossiness.

"I doubt it; I heard that Slytherin is for people who like dark magic. As annoying as she is, I'm pretty sure she's not evil." Harry sighed and slumped back in his seat. The way things were going, he was sure he would never get any friends at Hogwarts.

"Evil, Potter? You seem sadly misinformed about the qualities of a Slytherin," he said with mock formality.

"So it's not true that there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin?" Harry asked with disbelief.

"Of course _that's_true," he said, and Harry could almost hear a note of pride in his voice, "but that's not because we're evil, it's because we're the most ambitious and talented," he said boastfully.

"You do realise you haven't actually been sorted yet?" Harry asked, a ghost of a smirk flitting across his features.

"Good smirk Potter, but it's going to need some work if you're going to be in Slytherin."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I don't want to be in Slytherin."

"Au Contraire Potter, You'd_ love _being in Slytherin," he said with false enthusiasm.

"And why would I love it so much?" Harry inquired sceptically.

"The green matches your eyes," he said seriously, holding his solemn pose for a few seconds before his face cracked into an un-Malfoyish grin.

"Sorry, couldn't keep a straight face. But seriously, Slytherin is the best house for those who want to do well in the wizarding world. Whoever told you that Slytherin is only for those who are 'evil' or are interested in the dark arts must be very prejudiced to believe in those stereotypes."

Harry's mind flashed briefly to Hagrid, who he was sure was not prejudiced. Maybe he just didn't know any decent Slytherins?

To end the slightly awkward silence, Harry asked, "Where did Crabbe and Goyle go?"

"Oh," said Draco dismissively, "Probably still standing outside cracking their knuckles. I swear that they are even stupider than Weasley."

Harry, who still felt slightly guilty about offending Ron, didn't think that laughing at him with Draco was something that could be forgiven. Malfoy was clearly spoilt, and Harry wasn't sure he wanted him as a friend. But at least Draco seemed to be on Harry's side. And anyway, Ron had walked out, right? It wasn't Harry's fault, was it?

So Harry did the only thing that made sense. He laughed with Draco Malfoy, at the stupidity of Ron Weasley.


	2. Chapter 2

"The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest that you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall said briskly.

"I shall return," She continued, "When we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." With that she turned and marched out of the chamber.

Harry swallowed nervously, trying, unsuccessfully, to flatten his unruly hair. He felt as though there were large bats flying around inside his stomach. As loathe as he was to reveal any weakness in font of Malfoy, Harry had to ask.

"How exactly," Harry began, trying to control his voice, "Do they sort us into houses?"

Draco turned to him in amusement. "Don't tell me you're actually _scared_!"

Harry felt the colour rise in his cheeks, and turned back towards the doors without replying.

He heard Draco give sigh, and then speak. "They sort us in to houses by using an old hat which was enchanted by one of the schools founders. It decides which house suits us best."

Harry turned to look at Draco again, this time in confusion. "So all we have to do is try it on? But how does it know where to put us if it's just a hat?"

Draco smirked at him. "It's an _enchanted_ hat, Harry," He said as if that explained everything.  
><em>Which it didn't.<em> Harry thought to himself.

What if the hat didn't put him in a house at all? What if he just sat there with the hat on his head, while everyone stared at him? He decided that Slytherin wouldn't be too bad, as long as got put _somewhere_. He snuck a glance at the blonde haired boy beside him. Draco was not as nasty as Harry first thought. Granted, he was spoilt, rude, and didn't have much respect for people in general. But after Ron's furious exit and the trip across the lake, Draco was the closest thing to a friend he had in this place.

He thought back to the crossing of the black lake. The way the dark water glimmered in the light from the lanterns, the way the boats moved silently over the glassy water, how the castle drew slowly nearer, dark against the backdrop of sparkling stars. How could he ever have believed magic wasn't real?

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><p>It had been great to see Hagrid again on the platform, his friendly smile a welcome change from the curious glances, and in some cases, glares, he was attracting from the other students.<p>

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me now," His booming voice carried over the sea of students.

Harry and Draco were followed into their boat by a dark haired girl called Pansy, who greeted Malfoy with a fleeting hug, and a friendly "It's so good to see you!" before turning to Harry. Before either of them could speak, they were joined by a tall, unerringly handsome olive skinned boy who nodded to Draco and hugged Pansy in greeting, before introducing himself as Blaise Zabini for Harry's benefit.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Harry, Harry Potter." He replied politely, holding out his hand. He instantly regretted giving them his surname, as Pansy looked shocked and Blaise raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Pleasure is mine, Potter." Blaises face broke into a grin as he grasped Harry's out stretched hand.

At that moment, he heard Hagrid call out "Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!"

The small formation of boats began to move all at once, Harry looked in awe at the castle they were smoothly gliding towards; it was magnificent, truly magnificent.

A familiar tune broke through the peaceful silence that had settled over the first years. Harry turned around curiously to see Blaise lolling against the back of the boat cheerfully humming 'Row,Row , Row Your Boat,' as he gazed at the castle. He grinned as he caught Harry's bewildered expression.

"Enjoying the view?" He asked, the amusement clear in his tone. Harry grinned back, deciding that Blaise was someone with whom he could easily be friends.

"What view?" Draco sneered, as Blaise resumed his song. "This old castle is nothing compared to Malfoy Manor. Zabini, if you want me to hex you, by all means, keep humming." Blaise only hummed louder, smirking as Draco shot him a dark look.

Pansy gazed up at Malfoy, the admiration clear on her sharp features as she began gushing over how beautiful his home was, and how dreary the castle looked.

Blaise glanced at Harry again, rolling his eyes and looking pointedly between Pansy and Draco. Harry had to stifle a laugh as Pansy not-so stealthily shuffled closer to Malfoy, putting herself in a very precarious position on the edge of the small boat.

Without warning, Blaise leant swiftly forward and shoved Pansy off her delicate perch. She landed with an ungraceful splash, causing all heads to turn in their direction as Blaise began roaring with laughter, almost falling out himself.

"All righ' there Harry?" Hagrid's booming voice enquired from the back of the fleet.

"Er…yeah, everything's fine." Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing, but failed miserably as Pansy surfaced, spluttering, coughing and cursing the day Blaise Zabini was born.

As Pansy began to angrily splash her way over to the still slowly moving boat, Harry watched as Blaise quickly controlled his amusement, schooling his features into the mask of innocence.

Pansy had finally reached the boat, still screaming profanities at Blaise, and tried, unsuccessfully, to pull herself up into the boat. Blaise reached out his hand, saying oh-so innocently, "Pansy, how on earth did you manage to fall in! I thought that Draco had a tight hold on you."

"I didn't _fall_ in Zabini." Pansy spat, ignoring his outstretched hand to instead look imploringly at Draco, who immediately extended his hand, and helped Pansy into the boat. Blaise and Draco exchanged smirks behind Pansy's back, and Blaise took a mock bow.

As soon as she was secure in her seat again, Pansy rounded on Blaise.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking!" She almost screamed, drawing more attention to their boat. "You could've _killed _me; did you_ know_ there's a giant squid in here? I could've been _eaten_!"

Zabini's innocent expression was back in place as he looked at Pansy with disbelief and confusion.

"What do you mean, Pansy? It isn't my fault that you fell in."

Pansy turned to Draco, her furious mask melting away. "I know he pushed me in. I felt it. You must have seen him, Drake."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows at her. "You must have fallen in Pansy. Why on earth were you sitting so close to the edge?"

Before Pansy had a chance to express her obvious indignation, Hagrid's thundering tones informed them "Heads down!" as they passed through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.

Pansy's furious expression faded as their small boat travelled swiftly along a dark tunnel , her bottom lip quivered as she clutched Draco's arm.

"I didn't fall," Pansy whined pitifully as she again slid conspicuously closer to Draco, "He pushed me Drake , I swear, I could of _died_."

"I know Pansy," He said soothingly, before leaning back and unexpectedly punching Blaise on the arm. It was more for effect than anything, Harry could tell Zabini wasn't really hurt. Pansy smiled smugly at her manipulation of Malfoy, and leant back against him.

"OW!" Blaise yelled as loud as he possibly could, almost hitting his head on the low ceiling.

"Mind your head Zabini. Wouldn't want to damage to ceiling would you?" Harry quipped, surprising himself as much as the other occupants of the boat.

There was a slight pause, during which Harry internally kicked himself for offending his new friend, before all three of the other first years in his boat burst into laughter.

"We'll make a Slytherin of you yet, Harry Potter," Draco smirked as Pansy, who was still soaking wet from 'falling' into the lake tittered against his chest.

Harry grinned at him before realising, to his embarrassment, that the other first years from the surrounding boats were staring wide-eyed at them, including a red faced Ron who was looking at him with a mixture of betrayal and anger written across his features. When Ron saw Harry looking at him, he quickly turned and struck up a conversation with a thoroughly unnerved looking Hermione Granger.

"What are they looking at?" Malfoy sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear. Most of them looked away, embarrassed, but a few of the bolder students continued to stare at them with growing dislike. _What have I got myself in to? _Harry thought fleetingly.

As they began the long trek up to Hogwarts, all Harry could think about was the hurt look on Ron's face.

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><p>Harry was jolted out of his reverie by several screams and a collective gasp from the gathered students, as about twenty silvery, slightly transparent beings glided straight through the back wall.<p>

"Are- are those _ghosts?_" Harry whispered to Draco, wide eyed in amazement.

"Obviously," Draco raised his eyebrows. "Haven't you read _Hogwarts, A History_? _My _tutor made me read it _twice_."

"Er…I haven't actually. I don't have a tutor." Harry admitted, feeling that this conversation was not going at all the way he wanted.

Ron came storming over, having just caught sight of Harry from the other side of the small chamber.

Draco looked at him interest, not seeing Ron behind him. "You didn't have a tutor? Then who educated you?"

"I'll tell you who educated him" Ron said, an uncharacteristic sneer firmly in place. "_Muggles._ He's been living with Muggles for eleven years; he didn't even know he was magical until he got the letter."

Before anyone had a chance to react McGonagall swept back through the doors,

"Move along now," She spoke sharply to the ghosts. "The sorting ceremony is about to start." As the ghosts began to float away, she ushered the first years into a line.

With Draco in front of him and Blaise following behind, they filed out of the chamber, across the hall through a massive pair of double doors leading into the Great Hall.

Harry was speechless as he looked wonderstruck around the gigantic room; it was the most splendid thing he had ever seen. The light from thousands and thousands of candles floating magically in mid-air, illuminated four long tables which the rest of the school were sitting around, all of them staring shamelessly at the long line of first years.

At the back of the hall Harry could see a line of teachers sitting behind their own table overlooking the hall. More importantly, in front of the teachers, was a stool, and upon that stool was a patched, frayed and extremely dirty pointed wizard's hat.

McGonagall led them along the front of the teachers facing the other students. Harry wished that she hadn't, the whole school was still looking at them as if they were an interesting specimen at a zoo. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes Harry glanced upwards, his eyes widened as he took in a velvety sky filled with twinkling stars.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History," _He heard Granger whispering loudly to her neighbour.

A gentle hush fell over the great hall as the students all watched the hat intently, as if waiting for it to speak. To Harry's great surprise, this is exactly what it did. A wide rip near the brim opened, looking just as if the hat had a mouth, and it began to sing.

Applause broke out all over the hall as it finished its song, which had described the qualities desired by each house. Harry chanced a glance in Draco's direction. He looked confident and at ease, but Harry could sense an underlying tension, no doubt because of Ron's cruel revelation. Harry knew that status was something that Draco's family prized, and it was part of the values instilled in him by his parents to hate all things muggle.

He snuck a glance at Blaise on his left; the tall boy was grinning and waving confidently at the tables of students. Harry bit his lip to stop a laugh from escaping as he turned his attention back to McGonagall, who stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said as she called forward a small blonde haired girl, Harry watched nervously as she sat down and placed the hat on top of her head. It fell over her eyes and next to him Draco sniggered. There was a moment's pause before the hat shouted HUFFLEPUFF!' and the table on the right burst into applause.

With each name called, his nervousness grew. He watched as Hermione Granger was called, and placed in Gryffindor, followed by Neville Longbottom . Then McGonagall called "Malfoy, Draco."

Draco strode forwards, smirking as the whole hall watched him being sorted. Unlike when it was sorting Hermione and Neville, the hat made its decision almost at once, yelling "SLYTHERIN!" almost before it touched his head.

Draco swaggered over to the Slytherin table to join Crabbe and Goyle, and was shortly joined by an ecstatic Pansy.

Before Harry knew it, the professor was calling his name. As soon as the words "Potter, Harry" left her lips, the hall exploded into whispers, he could hear his name repeated over and over again.

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the disgusted glare that Ron shot his way.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Hmm… Difficult. Very difficult."_

Harry jumped violently as the voice whispered in his ear. The voice seemed to speak only to him, even though by all laws of nature the entire hall should have been able to hear the raspy voice; every table had fallen silent, watching with almost hungry expressions as the voice that only Harry could hear continued to speak.

"_Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. And there's talent, oh my goodness, yes- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… so where shall I put you?"_

Harry squeezed his eyes shut as, unbidden, the image of Ron's angry, hateful face flashed into his mind. He heard Weasley's sneering announcement about Harry's upbringing, spoken out of pure spite. He recalled Hermione's lectures, her bossy tone. Neville's aptitude for losing things. He could already see himself sitting in the Gryffindor common room, wherever that may be, being ignored, or maybe even yelled at or hexed by Ron, being forced to listen to Hermione's endless reprimands and anecdotes, endlessly running around after Neville, helping him. This was followed by another image, one of him sitting with Blaise, Pansy and Draco, talking, laughing at Blaises antics, teasing Draco about Pansy's devotion. He had no idea where these thoughts came from, but there they were, causing a small, errant thought to run through his head.

"_Not Gryffindor."_

"_Not Gryffindor, eh? Are you sure?"_

The voice didn't sound surprised, but perhaps a little disappointed. A pang of doubt ran through him. Maybe the hat was right. Maybe he should settle for the obvious, do what was expected of him. His resolve hardened. No, it was only a hat. Granted, a magical one, but still. And it was only a school house. It couldn't change his life that much, could it?

His mind made up, he sat unmoving on the uncomfortable stool as he waited for the hat to announce its decision. Maybe the hat would place him in Gryffindor anyway? He didn't even know how the sorting really worked.

The hat sighed, before the rip at its brim opened wide and it shouted a single word into the emptiness of the still hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was loud and instant outburst of clapping and cheering from the Slytherin table, accompanied by a shallow , shocked smattering of applause from around the other tables. The majority of the students were sitting in stunned silence. McGonagall slowly lifted the hat off his head, and he swore he could feel her hand shaking.

Unsettled by the school's reaction to his sorting, he paused a moment, looking to the staff table in the desperate hope that Hagrid, at least, would approve.

It was a vain hope. Hagrid was frowning, his tangled black brow furrowed as he slowly shook his head, whether in sadness or disbelief Harry didn't know. Slightly panicked now, Harry swept his emerald eyes along the table, not entirely sure what he was looking for, other than that he was searching for some kind of reassurance, some sign that he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of his life.

He found it in the form of Albus Dumbledore, whose kindly, bespectacled face he recognised from the chocolate frog card. Dumbledore was sitting at the middle of the table in a golden high-backed chair, his chin resting on his hands as he gazed down at Harry, regarding him as if he were a rather interesting scientific experiment. He met Harry's worried glance with a serene smile and a slight inclination of his head, his eyes flickering briefly towards the rest of the school, which had once again dissolved into a mass of ghostly whispers as people discussed what had just occurred. Dumbledore's message was clear.

"_Ignore them, Harry," _the look said, and quite without realising it, he felt a surge of confidence.

He turned to the Slytherin table, which was rife with the smug expressions of those who had just won an unexpected prize, and scanned the table for a safe place to sit. His eyes quickly alighted upon a delighted looking Pansy Parkinson, who was motioning Harry to an empty space between herself and a smirking Draco. Crabbe and Goyle were on Draco's other side, looking as gormless as ever.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, and called the next first year forward. Harry gratefully felt the huge, multi-faceted eye of the student body swivel away from him, and towards some other poor first year.

"Congrats. I hate to say I told you so Harry," Draco began smugly as Harry took his seat "But-"

"Yes, you told me so. Git," Harry grinned back, suddenly sure that this was where he was meant to be.

Suddenly, Draco suddenly put his head in his hands, seemingly unable to watch the sorting.

"Oh Merlin, here he goes." Draco groaned theatrically, as Harry turned to see Blaise striding cheerfully across the stage to be sorted, grinning and waving at the students. He saw Harry watching him and winked as he gracefully took his place on the stool.

The hat didn't fall over Blaises eyes as it did so many of the others. In fact, the handsome boy almost made the dirty old hat look like some kind of fashion statement, somehow managing to look completely at ease as he was judged not just by the hat but the whole school.

The hat considered Blaise for several seconds before announcing his house, not quite as long as Harry, but a good deal longer than Draco. Next to Harry, Draco lifted his face from his hands and glanced sharply at Blaise, whose face was still cheerful and unworried, clearly wondering why it was taking so long to decide.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called decisively, causing the Slytherin table to erupt into cheers once more.

Blaise courteously handed the hat to Professor McGonagall before strolling casually over to where they were sitting.

"He loves it, doesn't he?" Draco said in feigned disgust, shoving Crabbe over to make room for Blaise.

In truth, Harry was in awe of Blaises careless confidence. He ruefully wished that he could remain that unaffected by large crowds, remembering class speeches from the year before. He was about to mention this to Draco, when he remembered that it might not be the best idea to speak about his muggle past in the midst of people whose families had taught them that Muggles are scum. He recalled Weasley's words from before.

"…_he didn't even know he was magical until he got the letter."_

He glanced at Draco, who was now taunting Blaise about how long it had taken the hat to decide he wasn't a "moronic Gryffindork". Draco seemed to have forgotten what Weasley had said earlier about his upbringing.

After the sorting, the Headmaster made a short speech, consisting of a few sentences of welcome and a few words of nonsense, which made Draco snicker contemptuously. Harry didn't join in, but did wonder why Dumbledore deemed it appropriate to try to convince the first years he was mad.

His thoughts were interrupted as a wave of chatter and laughter washed over him, caused by the sudden apparition of hundreds of dishes of food, right onto the table.

Harry tried to appear unaffected by the sudden appearance of a table load of food, but his expression must have betrayed his shock because Draco quickly explained that the food was sent up from the kitchens below, using magic.

"You know, I can't believe that you don't know _anything _about Hogwarts," He said, passing Harry a plate of excellent looking roast vegetables. "Imagine being raised by _Muggles_," He said the word as if they were a horrible disease, and anyone raised by them may be infected.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Harry replied, thinking of the way he had been picked on, bullied and generally treated like he was nothing for the past ten years.

"I mean, they're hardly better than animals! My Father says that they carry all kinds of diseases. You may want to go and see the nurse, and make sure you haven't picked up anything. I expect there's a hospital wing somewhere in this dreary castle," He said flippantly, taking a swig of an orange drink poured into his goblet by Pansy, who seemed to have taken on the role of Draco's personal waitress.

"You Father, Draco, is a foul git," Said Blaise pleasantly, flashing a dazzling grin at a pretty third year girl sitting opposite him, making her blush and look away.

Harry tensed, waiting for Draco's reaction, which was sure to be violent. From what Draco had said so far, Harry was inclined to agree with Blaise, but that didn't mean the dark haired boy should have said it.

Draco narrowed his silver eyes.

"Shut up, Zabini. You don't even have a father," He said cuttingly.

For just a second, Harry a flash of pain in Blaises forest green eyes, before his usual relaxed demeanour was back in place. What had happened to Blaises father?

"True, but if he was anything like yours, I'm glad I didn't know him. Could you pass the carrots please Harry?" He changed the subject abruptly. Harry snuck a glance at Draco. The pale boy was looking slightly uncomfortable, as if regretting his words.

"You hate carrots, Blaise. You said so last time you came over for dinner!" Pansy reminded him.

"Yeah, but that's only because you were cooking," He grinned at her, showing he didn't mean it. They all laughed, breaking the tension which had crept up around them.

Harry glanced towards the staff table again, and saw Hagrid watching him. When he saw Harry had caught him looking, he gave a very forced smile and turned to talk to another teacher.

Disappointed, he began to turn back to his meal, but as he did so he saw another teacher watching him.

The man was pale, sallow-skinned and hook nosed, his black, expressionless eyes boring into Harry's with such intensity that Harry flinched and looked away almost immediately, his scar suddenly stinging. He rubbed his forehead, hoping that he had imagined it. If his scar kept doing that all year, we really _was_ going to have to find the nurse.

He nudged Draco. "Who's that teacher? The one with the black hair?" Draco followed his gaze to where the man, Harry was relieved to see, was now talking with Professor Quirrell, whom Harry had met briefly at the leaky cauldron.

"That's Professor Snape. He's the head of Slytherin." Draco drawled, glancing towards the staff table. Snape looked up as if he could feel their eyes on him, and returned Draco's nod of acknowledgement.

"And he's my Godfather," Draco explained smugly "He teaches potions, so I'm willing to bet that will be my best subject."

_Granger would be outraged _Harry thought, fighting the urge to laugh at his friend's smugness. Blaise did laugh, shaking his head at Draco's blatant expectation of favouritism. Draco ignored him, perhaps still feeling bad about bringing up his father.

"Look at _them_," Pansy said, disgust dripping from her voice as she pointed over to the Gryffindor table, where Granger was sitting next to Ron, talking non-stop, pointing at various things around the hall and occasionally prodding Weasley for and answer to her multitude of questions.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Which classes are you most looking forward too, Harry?" He asked with exaggerated brightness and enthusiasm.

"Er…" In truth, Harry hadn't a clue what he was looking forward to doing. He didn't even know the full list of subjects. He though back to shopping at Diagon Alley, trying to remember the subjects he was taking.

Luckily, Draco didn't wait for him to answer. "I just hope we don't have many classes with those Gryffindorks," He said emphatically, looking over to where Neville had just spilt an entire bowl of bright purple jelly (they were now onto dessert).

That night Harry lay in his four poster bed, listening to the quiet breathing of the four other boys with whom he was sharing a dormitory; Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and a tall, gangly boy who had introduced himself as Theo Nott. He stared up at the green hangings, dyed black by the darkness, and smiled to himself.

Magic. It was real, and he, Harry Potter, would be learning how to do it! He could just imagine the look on Dudley's wide face at the sight of all that food appearing instantly on the table. The thought made his grin widen as he pulled the blanket tighter around him.

He was actually here, at Hogwarts, and there was nothing Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon could do about it. He was famous here. He had friends here. He belonged here, just like his parents had belonged here. He felt a tear slide down his face, infused with all the sadness and joy and wonder he was feeling.

For the first time in his life, he felt home.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N We're so sorry that this took so long! My co-author and I've been working on our original fiction, and haven't had much time for fanfics. But I'm sure you guys don't want to hear excuses, so without furthur ado, please enjoy the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer- Anything you recognise including characters, settings and direct quotes belong to J. K. Rowling.  
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**Also- upon re-reading this fic to refresh our memories we discovered some disgustingly huge errors in the editing of the sequel chapters. Oh my gosh I am so sorry, they _will _be fixed at some point.**

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><p>"BANG!"<p>

A sound like a gunshot cracked through the room. In a panic, Harry jolted upright in his bed, his sleep-blurred eyes wide as he searched for the source of the noise. By the grey light was coming in through the window he could see that Draco and Theo Nott too had sat up, and Draco was holding his wand. Crabbe and Goyle, remarkably, were still sound asleep.

"What the hell was that?" Draco asked, lighting his candle with a flick of the wand. Harry stared at the flame in amazement. How had he _done _that?

In the light of the flame, Harry now saw that Blaise, fully clothed, was sitting cross legged on his bed with a grin on his face and his wand lying innocently on the covers next to him. Draco flopped violently back on his pillow when he realised where the sound had come from.  
>"What the hell Blaise, it's barely six am!" He said angrily, jabbing his wand at the clock above the doorway.<p>

Blaise looked utterly unrepentant.

"Breakfast time!" he announced, throwing his pillow at Draco's face.

"It's not breakfast until seven thirty, Zabini. Go back to sleep," mumbled Theo into his pillow, having pulled the covers back over his head.

"I want time to explore the castle before we have to mix with the commoners. Harry, Draco, want to come?"

"If you want a detention in your first week of lessons, by all means, go ahead," Draco said irritably, before copying Theo and turning over to get back to sleep.

Blaise looked at them in disgust. "You lot are so boring. See you in class."  
>Picking up his wand, he left the room.<p>

"Idiot," Draco muttered.

Harry found himself grinning at their interation. Part of him _had _wanted to go with Blaise, but he knew he'd get plenty of time to explore the castle later. And besides, as Draco had pointed out, he'd hate to have a detention so early in the year.

The day before had been their first day of classes, and Harry was already having trouble keeping everything he'd learned straight in his head. The previous day had melted into a kind of magical blur.

_At least I have people who know what they're doing, _he thought, gratitude for the Slytherins making him smile. He couldn't even _imagine _trying to find his way to classes without them.

The stares had followed him everywhere, students pointing at him openly, whispering to their friends as they passed. His stage fright had only been somewhat assuaged by the way Draco and his friends had reacted, simply laughing and enjoying the reflected attention. Although this did give him some suspicions about why Draco was sticking so close to him, he'd certainly been glad to not have endured it alone.

Too nervous about the coming classes to get back to sleep, he spent the next hour trying to imagine what the day's lessons would be like. _Magic. _It still amazed him how quickly he had come to accept its existence. He smiled at the emerald drapes above him, feeling the closer to his parents he ever had before.

* * *

><p>The Great Hall was just beginning to fill when the Slytherin first years sloped in. Harry again had to stop in the great arched doorway in amazement as he took in the scene. Just like the before, there was masses of delicious looking food piled high on the immaculately wrought dishes covering the tables, the smell causing Harry's stomach to growl forcefully. Having never been able to eat as much as he wanted when living with the Dursleys, this in itself was always enough to make him stop. The owls were swooping in through the windows, flying low over the tables to deliver post.<p>

Draco, ever the leader, seated them in the middle of the Slytherin table.  
>"Urgh," he said suddenly, staring across the hall to the Gryffindor table. "Look that that moron."<br>Harry followed his line sight, and almost choked on his pumpkin juice with laughter as he saw Weasley shovelling food into his mouth at a disgusting rate, flicking pieces onto his robes as he did so. Draco looked repulsed.

"Charming," Harry said sarcastically, and was rewarded with a laugh from the group.

Harry continued watching as the Granger girl snapped something at Weasly, probably some reprimand about his eating style. He gave her a dirty look, but otherwise ignored her, continuing the stuff his face. Opposite him, Longbottom was trying (and failing) to lift up the tablecloth without spilling anything, presumably looking for his toad.

Harry glanced around his own group of friends, all of whom were laughing and talking, their high status obvious in their unconsciously perfect table manners and easy chatter. He felt another guilty rush of gratitude to them for taking him in, even though he knew deep down it was only because he was famous.

Blaise didn't arrive until halfway through breakfast, strolling up the aisle and flopping down opposite them, next to a blonde girl who was introduced by Draco as Daphne Greengrass.  
>Draco raised an eyebrow at him. "Have fun exploring?"<p>

Blaise nodded. "Yep. You should've come, Draco. I found my new favourite place in the castle."

"Yeah?" Harry asked, interested. All through their first day, Blaise had been busy deciding what his favourite place was. After a full day of lessons, he'd decided that it was their dormitory, which Draco said was boring, but Harry had secretly agreed with. Their dorm was spacious, warm, and comfortable, which was all to the good if he was going to live there for most of the next seven years.

Blaise looked around conspiratorially. "The kitchens!" he announced gleefully.

Draco scoffed. "What, with all the house-elves? I wouldn't go down there if you _begged _me."

"Good, because I wouldn't tell you how to get in if _you_ begged_ me_," he said, pouring himself a mug of black coffee. Harry was surprised, he'd never seen anyone his age drink coffee like that before.

"House-elves?" he questioned, wondering what those could possibly be.

"Slaves," Daphne said.

"Servants," Draco corrected. Blaise looked at him thoughtfully.

"Not really. They don't have much of a choice. I'd say slaves is a pretty accurate description of most."

"Yeah, but not the Hogwarts ones. Apparently Dumbledore treats them more like staff. Stupid old man."

Blaise nodded, conceding the point. Daphne continued talking, this time directing her attention to Harry.

"They usually serve pure-blood families, most of them for generations."

"Huh," Harry said, unable to formulate a proper response. Daphne smiled at him prettily before returning to her toast.

Suddenly, something swooped down in front of him. Harry only just stopped himself from crying out in surprise, and a moment later was glad he'd restrained himself. It wouldn't have looked very cool if he'd screamed at his own owl.

Hedwig looked at him intelligently, clicking her beak. He fed her a piece of toast.

"You've got a letter, Harry," Draco said, pointing at a note that Hedwig must have dropped in front of him.

Harry reached forwards and quickly opened the paper, wondering who on earth it could be from.

"Read it out," Draco commanded. Harry did so.

"Dear Harry, I know you get Friday afternoons off...cup of tea...three o'clock...send answer," he summarized, scanning the rough letters. "Oh it's from Hagrid."

Draco snorted. "Drunken caveman," he said dismissively.

Harry frowned, remembering meeting Draco in the robe shop on Diagon Alley before term began when he'd said something similar.

"I'm going to go and see him," he said firmly. "I like Hagrid."

Draco looked taken aback. "But _why_?" he said, obviously confused.

"Because he asked me to," Harry answered, deliberately misinterpreting the question.

Draco looked at him hard for a second. "Okay," he said, and relief swept through Harry. "But I want to come with you."

Daphne and Blaise looked non-plussed. Harry found himself feeling the same way. Draco smirked at them. "What? I just want to see how he really lives."

The other two made 'oh, right' faces, while Harry found himself frowning. He didn't want Draco tagging along just to make fun of Hagrid, but what could he really do about it? Draco seemed to have a lot of power among his peers, and Harry didn't want to lose his only friends.

"Fine. But be polite."

"Isn't he always?" Daphne said sarcastically, but Draco nodded.

"We'll go down after potions," he said, snatching the note from Harry and writing 'yes please' in immaculate script on the back. He gave the note to Hedwig, who took it but didn't fly off. She seemed to be waiting for Harry's confirmation. Harry nodded at her reluctantly. She took of in a graceful rush of feathers, and was gone.

* * *

><p>The dungeon was almost full when Harry and his new friends arrived for their first potions lesson.<p>

"Won't we be late?" Harry had asked repeatedly as they lingered in the hallways, worried about being singled out by the frightening potions master.

"That's the point, Harry. Arriving early for a lesson is something only over-eager muggleborns do," Draco had said contemptuously, lounging against a stone pillar in the corridor as the flow of students heading to class became a trickle. Harry had nodded, but secretly felt like bolting for the dungeons. He hadn't wanted to be late, and he certainly hadn't wanted to be out in the open for any longer that he had to be. The whispers still followed him, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear. But it seemed like that wasn't really Draco's style, and as a result they'd barely stepped through the door when the bell signalling the beginning of the class rang through the hallway behind them.

"How nice of you to join us, Mr Potter," came a soft voice from the front of the room. Snape's dark eyes were fixed on Harry, ignoring the group of Slytherins around him. Harry frowned, wondering why Snape had chosen _him _to pick on.

"Sorry Professor," said Draco said casually, giving Snape a smile. The Potion Master's gaze switched to Draco, who held it. After a second, Snape nodded curtly and gestured for them to take their seats. Harry moved across the room gratefully, glad he wasn't to be reprimanded.  
>There were three tables with free space, and one of them was Ron's table. Another was occupied by Theodore Nott and the blonde Slytherin girl from before, Daphne, leaving two spaces. Draco made a beeline for that table, motioning for Harry to follow him. Harry looked awkwardly at Pansy before taking the seat next to Draco. She looked unconcerned.<p>

"Move, Greengrass," she said to Daphne, who narrowed her eyes in response.

"No chance, Pansy. Get to class on time and you can sit where you want."

"Precisely, Miss Greengrass," the Professor snapped. "Miss Parkinson, sit down. I'm sure Mr Malfoy can manage without your incessant pandering for the lesson."

Pansy threw herself down sulkily next to Crabbe at the other table.

"Now, if I can _teach _my lesson," Snape said, eyeing the class. "I will begin by taking the register."

Snape read the names quickly, lingering only slightly over Harry's name before continuing.  
>The last name read was Blaise Zabini, and Harry looked around at Draco in confusion as the name went unanswered. Where was Blaise? Draco shrugged at him.<p>

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," Snape continued. His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet the way they were leaning forward in their chairs, Harry could tell the whole class was catching every word.

"Pathetic isn't it," Draco murmured to him. "How disgustingly eager they all are about the boring little spiel he repeats to every class." The word 'they', combined with a glance in Hermione's direction, left him in no doubt as to the group he was talking about.

Harry glanced at him wide eyed, unable to believe Draco was choosing to communicate _now, _while Snape continued to address the class in barely more than a whisper. His beady black eyes were cold, appraising the class with obvious contempt.

"Simmering cauldrons, shimmering fumes, blah blah, who cares?" Draco continued, oblivious to the power Snape seemed to have gathered over the rest of the class.

Harry looked at him, amazed at how uncaring he seemed about the possibility of getting into trouble with Snape.

"Potter!" Snape barked suddenly, his voice back to its normal volume, causing Harry to jump to his feet in shock.

"Sir?" He recovered, ignoring Draco and Theodore's sniggers as he sank slowly back into his seat.

Snape's lip was curled in what looked to Harry like amusement as he delivered the end of his sentence.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"  
>Harry looked at him dumbfounded. Across the room he could see Granger had already thrust her hand into the air and was waving it around eagerly. Harry scowled at the sight of her. <em>Know it all <em>he thought angrily, wishing he'd had more time to study his new textbooks. He turned back to Snape, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Well," He began slowly "If you add an infusion to a powdered root then you-"

"Get the Draught of Living Death, sleeping potion," a voice breathed from his left. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daphne doodling on her piece of parchment. She was scrawling what looked for a split second like random lines, before Harry understood. She was writing. He turned his head a fraction more to read the words '_Say it'_. Without hesitation Harry repeated the information, grinning when Snape gave him a nod of approval.

"Impressive Potter, but can you tell me where you would look if I told you to find a bezoar?"  
>Again Harry saw Hermione's hand go up, and again he felt the same stab of annoyance at not knowing the answer. Daphne was still scribbling away on her parchment and this time when Harry glanced down he saw she had again written something for him.<p>

"The stomach of a goat," he read aloud. "It will serve as an antidote for most poisons."

"Correct again Potter," Snape replied grudgingly "You've obviously done some previous study, very admirable of you; however would you be able to tell me the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

This time Harry wasted no time, immediately looking for the answer from Daphne.

"It's the same plant," he answered confidently. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione lower he hand in disappointment as Snape nodded.

"Very good Potter, very good indeed but I wonder how much of that you knew- and how much of that you were just informed by Miss Greengrass."

The professor stalked forward and snatched up the parchment in front Daphne, running his eyes over it suspiciously. Harry watched him, horrified, but to his surprise Snape threw the parchment down on the table again and moved away.

"My apologies Miss Greengrass, Mr Potter." He said stiffly, "it appears I was mistaken."  
>Harry glanced over at Daphne in disbelief, his eyes running over the clean parchment in front of her, where she had printed the date in neat lettering along the top.<p>

She smiled at him, and Harry noticed that she was extremely pretty. He looked away quickly, feeling his face getting warm. Draco was watching them with interest, but Harry was saved his teasing by Snape as he began dividing them into pairs to prepare their first potion.

Harry was paired with Draco, whom to his surprise showed some skill in preparing the potion.

"Lifetime of bottling fame and brewing glory and all that," he explained. "Snape used to tutor me when he visited."

Across the table, Daphne and Theo were also doing well. Annoyingly, Granger and Weasley were too, and Harry found it strangely gratifying when Snape completely overlooked the fact. He immediately felt guilty for the thought, and quickly turned his attention to weighing the nettles.  
>Somehow, the Longbottom boy managed to completely melt his partner's cauldron, getting himself covered in the potion in the process. Draco laughed at this, but Harry just felt sorry for the boy, along with an overwhelming sense of relief that it wasn't he, Harry, who had to take care of him.<p>

Draco and Harry's potion was pronounced by Snape as the best in the class, and they were awarded five house points each for it.

The feeling of earning his first points for his house was unexpected, and Harry found a grin crossing his face. He, Harry Potter, the boy who had lived under some stairs since he could remember, forgotten and abused, was actually contributing to something.

_I can help the Slytherins win the house cup!_

Draco turned to him, grinning at the victory over Granger. Daphne looked up as he moved, and caught Harry's eye.

"Good job," she said, and smiled at him. Theo nodded agreement. Over at the other table, Pansy was whispering furiously to Crabbe and Goyle, prodding them with her wand. The sight made Harry laugh.

_No,_ he thought. _Not 'the Slytherins.' _

_Us._


End file.
